Good news for electric reliability in Maryland

When Talen Energy Corp. announced plans to close it’s coal-fired power plants at Brandon Shores, the regional grid operator (PJM) granted BGE a contract to build a new transmission line to compensate for the lost power.

At the time, the Office of the People’s Counsel (OPC) protested PJM’s proposal for not undergoing a competitive procurement process nor considering cost-effective alternatives such as batter ystorage, but FERC approved the projects as PJM requested. Since, cost estimates for the project have doubled, reaching $1.5 billion, most of which will be charged to BGE ratepayers.

In a joint legislative briefing about utility bills on March 12th, Delegate Lorig Charkoudian questioned BGE about the power line, asking why the utility has refused to share a “power flow” analysis with the legislature, information that would be valuable as the General Assembly works to ensure affordably and reliable energy for the state and considers a wide range of proposals for new generation and storage.

Now, a new analysis commissioned by the Office of the People’s Counsel finds that the Brandon Shores Transmission Line will more than compensate for the power loss from the closure of the coal fired power plants. While BGE has refused to provide their own analysis, according to the OPC, a witness for BGE has explained that the transmission lines will “drastically increase the import capability into the BGE service territory.”

This research should provide relief for those who are concerned about nearterm reliability in the BGE and PEPCO regions of Maryland.

Electric commodity rates will rise this summer for customers across the PJM territory, and for BGE customers especially. Maryland PIRG has pointed to mismanagement at PJM as a key driver in the increases: the grid operator failed to properly plan for the power plant closures while holding back hundreds of gigawatts of storage, wind and solar projects that are ready to meet that demand in Maryland and across the grid. This new analysis confirms that there is no immediate concern of black outs, but that  is little consolation for the rising cost of energy.

As we have said before, if state leaders wants to address rising utility bills, the smartest action they can take is to stop wasteful utility spending that is driving up gas and electric delivery rates. And when it comes to generation, the state would be wise to invest in energy storage and solar power to provide safe, reliable and affordable energy for Maryland families.